Electrical connector

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an electrical connector with a housing (1) of insulating material and a metal contact element (2) fittable in the housing (1). The contact element has a crimp contact region (4) to contact a first cable end (11) and a cutting clamp contact region (3) to contact a second cable (12). Such an arrangement is not suitable for contacting cables of different diameters via the cutting clamp contact region. According to the invention, the cutting clamp contact region (3) has two tension-relieving regions (5, 6), with the cutting clamp blades, which are fitted opposite one another in pairs (7, 8, 9, 10), arranged between them. Two pairs of cutting clamp blades (7, 10) are provided for small-diameter cables and two pairs (8, 9) are provided for large-diameter cables. The pairs of cutting clamp blades (8, 9) for small-diameter cables are arranged between those for large-diameter cables.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an electrical connector having a housing madeof insulation material and a metallic contact element, which can bearranged in the housing and has an insulation-piercing contact regionand a crimp contact region which, in the direction of the longitudinalaxis of a cable that can be introduced, adjoins the insulation-piercingcontact region and is conductively connected to it.

2. Summary of the Prior Art

There are many applications for which it is desirable to be able to usethe insulation-piercing technique. However, one disadvantage of theinsulation-piercing technique is that the contacts are very sensitivewith respect to the diameter of the insulated conductors with whichcontact is to be made. However, since in the normal case it is to beassumed that it is not known from the beginning what cable size isintended to be connected using an insulation-piercing contact, thistechnique often cannot be used. The reason why insulation-piercingstructures are so sensitive with respect to diameter fluctuations isthat the cutter, which is intended to cut through the insulation, mustreach the inner conductor.

DE 43 24 841 A1, which is representative of the prior art, has specifieda method and a device for the power supply to optional,electrically-driven, special equipment devices, for example in a motorvehicle. For this purpose, a cable of a basic production cable set isconnected by means of an electrical connector to a cable leading to thespecial equipment device. The electrical connector has a housing made ofinsulation material. Arranged in the housing is a contact element shapedfrom sheet metal and having an insulation-piercing contact region forthe electrical cable and unitary with at least one further electricalconnection region for making contact with at least one furtherelectrical cable. The housing is divided into two chambers, one of whichaccommodates the insulation-piercing contact region and the other thefurther connection region. The two chambers are connected to each othervia a passage, through which there passes a connecting web between theinsulation-piercing contact region and the additional connection region.This citation does not reveal how an insulation-piercing structure canbe used for cables with different diameters.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,596 likewise discloses the use ofinsulation-piercing structures. In this case, cables or cable ends arefirst fixed in a strain-relief region and contact is then made with themby means of an insulation-piercing structure. In each case, one pair ofinsulation-piercing structures is connected to each other and issurrounded on the outside by a pair of strain-relief regions.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,670 likewise discloses an electrical connectorhaving an insulation-piercing contact region. This printed documentdiscloses the construction of the insulation-piercing contact element ina U shape, two opposite insulation-piercing blades being arranged ineach case on the limbs of the U.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to specify an electrical connectorwhich has an insulation-piercing contact region and is suitable forcables with various diameters. The object is achieved by an electricalconnector having the features of Patent claim 1. Advantageousdevelopments are specified in the subclaims.

The electrical connector has, respectively, pairs of insulation-piercingblades for cables with a smaller diameter and for cables with a greaterdiameter. The pairs of mutually opposite insulation-piercing blades forcables with the larger diameter are in this case arranged on theoutside, and the pairs of insulation-piercing blades for cables with asmaller diameter are arranged on the inside. If a cable of largerdiameter is inserted into the insulation-piercing blades, contact ismade by the outer insulation-piercing blades. In relation to the innerinsulation-piercing blades, various possibilities can be conceived.Either the inner insulation-piercing blades cut not only into the outerinsulation sleeve of the cable, but also into the inner conductor.However, this partial severing does not lead to further problems, sincethe cable is retained by the strain-relief regions, and mutual contactof the two cable parts is ensured by the outer insulation-piercingcontacts and the base plate, connecting these, of the metallic contactelement. Alternatively, the inner insulation-piercing blades areplastically deformed, since they are, for example, more easilydeformable, since they are thinner than the outer insulation-piercingblades, and the thicker cable is not influenced by the innerinsulation-piercing blades. It is also possible for the actual solutionto lie between these two extremes.

It is particularly advantageous if the contact element can be pushedinto a housing in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the cablethat can be introduced. It is advantageous here if two latchingpositions are provided and, in a first initial latching position, acable end can be introduced into the crimp contact region and, in asecond end position, a cable can be introduced from above, through thehousing, into the insulation-piercing contact region. The crimp contactregion is thus protected against external influences and the entirecontact element is also stabilized and protected by the housing.

In addition, it is advantageous that the insulation-piercing region andthe crimp region are arranged in such a way that the two cables to beconnected to each other are aligned with each other and are arranged inthe housing one above the other in relation to the housing base. Thisensures that the arrangement is implemented in a very compact manner anddoes not interfere further in the course of the continuous cable, sincethe cable end to be connected is aligned with the continuous cable.

In order to ensure reliable mounting of the cables, it is advantageousif the contact element and the housing have a stop for the initiallatching position and the end position.

The electrical connector is suitable for connecting continuous cables ofdifferent sizes to one cable end, or for connecting two cable ends whichare located opposite each other and have a larger diameter to a thirdcable end. The use of the electrical connector proceeds as follows:firstly, one cable end is introduced into the crimp contact region, andthe crimp connection is closed. After this, the contact element with thefirst cable end is pushed into the housing. The second cable, acontinuous cable, is then inserted from above, through the opening inthe housing, into the insulation-piercing contact region. Depending onthe size of the cable diameter, only the two inner pairs ofinsulation-piercing blades cut through the insulation of the cable andmake contact with the conductor, or the two outer pairs ofinsulation-piercing blades and the two inner pairs ofinsulation-piercing blades cut through the insulation of the cable andthe outer ones make contact with the conductor. The innerinsulation-piercing blades then also partially cut through theconductor. In addition, after the cable has been introduced, thestrain-relief elements of the strain-relief regions have to be closed.This can be performed, for example, through the opening of the housing,that is to say from above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section through a housing with an introducedcontact element in the initial latching position,

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through a housing with a connected cable inan installation situation,

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a housing with a contact element in theinitial latching position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An electrical connector is illustrated in FIG. 1. The housing 1 isessentially U-shaped. The opening of the U is located at the top in thedrawing, the housing base 16 is illustrated in section at the bottom. Astep 15 in the housing base 16 can be seen. The metallic contact element2 is located on the lower level of the housing base 16. In FIG. 1, thesaid contact element 2 is only partially pushed in. The positionillustrated in FIG. 1 is designated the initial latching position. Astop 13, which engages on a shoulder of the housing, prevents thefurther insertion of the contact element 2 into the housing 1. Thewithdrawal of the contact element 2 from the housing is prevented by twomutually opposite sprung elements 17 and corresponding broadenings inthe housing cross-section 18, on which the spring elements 17 latch in.

In order to set up the metallic contact, the metallic contact elementhas an insulation-piercing contact region 3 and a crimp contact region4. In the initial latching position of the contact element 2 in thehousing 1, the insulation-piercing contact region 3 is already locatedin the housing, whereas the crimp contact region 4 is accessible outsidethe housing. Crimp contact region 4 and insulation-piercing contactregion 3 are conductively connected to each other. The crimp contactregion comprises two pairs of crimp blades arranged one behind theother, of which those 19 further remote from the insulation-piercingcontact region 3 are used for fixing a cable end 11 having a cablesheath, and the crimp blades 20 arranged closer to theinsulation-piercing contact region 3 are used for fixing the strippedconductors of the cable end 11.

The crimp contact region 4 is adjoined by the insulation-piercingcontact region 3. Both regions are configured in such a way that cables11,12 fixed herein are aligned with one another. In this case, theconnected cables 11,12 lie one above the other in relation to thehousing base 16. The insulation-piercing contact region 3 comprises theactual insulation-piercing blades 7 to 10 and two strain-relief regions5 and 6. If the insulation-piercing contact region 3 is viewed in thedirection of a cable that is to be inserted (see FIG. 3), then there arearranged, one behind another, a strain-relief region 5 with, forexample, a pair of opposite tongues, which are crimped for the purposeof strain relief, a pair of opposite insulation-piercing blades 7, whichare suitable for cables of a larger diameter, two pairs, arranged onebehind the other, of insulation-piercing blades 8 and 9, which arearranged alongside each other and are suitable for cables of a smallerdiameter, and a pair of insulation-piercing blades 10, which arearranged alongside each other and are once more suitable for cables of alarger diameter. The last element once more forms a strain-relief region6 which, for example, may be composed of two opposite blades, which areto be crimped in order to fix the cable. The actual insulation-piercingcontact region 3 is composed of a W profile with four planes, each ofwhich has an opposite pair of insulation-piercing blades 7 to 10.

Illustrated in FIG. 2 is an arrangement according to FIG. 1 in aninstallation situation. In this case, a cable end 11 is fixed at thecrimp contact region 4. The conductors 21 of the cable 11 can clearly beseen. They are retained by the crimp tab 20. It can also be seen thatthe stops 13 for the initial latching position are no longer visible.This results from the fact that, during the crimping operation, thestops are bent over at the same time, in order thus to make it possiblefor the contact element 2 to be inserted into the housing 1 in order toreach the end position. After the crimping operation, the metalliccontact element 2 was pushed into the housing 1. At the same time, thesprung elements 17 are pushed further from a first taper in thecross-section of the housing 18 to a second taper in the cross-sectionof the housing at 18'. Provided on the contact element 2 is a stop 14'for the end position. The stop strikes on the step 15 in the housing 1.A projection 14 enters a depression, which is visible in FIG. 1, in thehousing wall 22. This securing means is intended to prevent thearrangement being influenced by tension on the cable end that is on theleft in the figure. In the end position, a second cable 12 can then alsobe introduced into the insulation-piercing contact region. The cable 12is then conductively connected to the cable end 11.

The arrangement according to FIG. 1 is illustrated in a top view in FIG.3. Identical reference symbols from FIGS. 1 and 3 have the same meaning.It can be seen that there is likewise provided, at the free end of thecrimp contact region 4, a stop 23, which engages in a broadening in thehousing 1, and this avoids the crimp contact region 4 being bent or eventorn off the contact element in the event of tension on the cable end11.

I/We claim:
 1. An electrical connector comprising a housing and ametallic contact element, that is arranged in the housing and has aninsulation-piercing contact region and a crimp contact region that, inthe direction of the longitudinal axis of a cable that can beintroduced, adjoins the insulation-piercing contact region and isconductively connected to it, the insulation-piercing contact regionhaving two strain-relief regions, and insulation-piercing blades, whichare opposite each other, being arranged between these crimp regions intwo pairs, respectively of insulation-piercing blades being provided forcables of larger diameter and for cables of smaller diameter, in such away that the pairs of insulation-piercing blades for cables of smallerdiameter are arranged between those for cables of larger diameter. 2.Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact elementcan be pushed into the housing in the direction of the longitudinal axisof a cable that can be introduced in such a way that in an initiallatching position a cable end can be connected to the crimp contactregion, and in an end position at least one cable can be introduced fromabove into the housing, into the insulation-piercing contact region. 3.Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement ofinsulation-piercing and crimp region is implemented in such a way thatthe two cables are aligned with each other and are arranged in thehousing one above the other in relation to the housing base. 4.Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein contact element andhousing have a stop for the initial latching position and the endposition.
 5. Electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein theinsulation-piercing contact of the insulation-piercing contact region iscomposed of a W profile with four planes, each of which has an oppositepair of insulation-piercing blades.
 6. Electrical connector according toclaim 1, wherein the central insulation-piercing blades are plasticallydeformed by a thick cable.